Whoever becomes chancellor will lead Germany into a new era.<\/b>
\nBERLIN \u2014 The party that narrowly beat outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel\u2019s bloc pushed Monday for a quick agreement on a coalition government, but Europe\u2019s biggest economy could still be in for weeks of uncertainty after an election that failed to set a clear direction. Olaf Scholz, the candidate of the center-left Social Democrats, called for Merkel\u2019s center-right Union bloc to go into opposition after its worst-ever result in a national election. Both parties finished with well under 30% of the vote, and that appeared to put the keys to power in the hands of two opposition parties \u2013 raising questions over the stability of a future government. Armin Laschet, the Union\u2019s candidate, rejected the idea that the election gave any party a clear mandate and made clear he still hopes to lead a new government. But he sounded considerably less confident Monday than he did a day earlier, when he said his bloc would do \u201ceverything we can\u201d to form one \u2013 and some allies hinted at skepticism that would happen. Whoever becomes chancellor will lead Germany into a new era. During Merkel\u2019s 16 years in office, she was seen abroad not just as Germany\u2019s leader but in many ways as Europe\u2019s, helping steer the European Union through a series of financial and political crises and ensuring her country maintained a high profile on the international stage. It remains to be seen whether the next chancellor will match her global standing. The unclear result, combined with an upcoming French presidential election in April, creates uncertainty \u2013 at least for now \u2013 in the two economic and political powers at the center of the EU, just as the bloc struggles with how to counter Russia and China, revamp its relationship with the United States and address questions about its future from populist leaders in eastern countries. Scholz, the current finance minister and vice chancellor, pulled his party out of a long poll slump to win on Sunday. Laschet, the governor of North Rhine-Westphalia state, stumbled in a campaign that was strewn with missteps. But the kingmakers are likely to be the two prospective junior partners in any coalition, the environmentalist Greens and the business-friendly Free Democrats. The Greens traditionally lean toward the Social Democrats and the Free Democrats toward the Union, but neither ruled out going the other way. \u201cVoters have spoken very clearly,\u201d Scholz said Monday. \u201cThey strengthened three parties \u2013 the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Free Democrats \u2013 so this is the visible mandate the citizens of this country have given: These three parties should lead the next government.\u201d Laschet said his party also wants to lead a coalition with the two smaller parties. The only other option that would have a parliamentary majority is a repeat of the outgoing \u201cgrand coalition\u201d of the Union and Social Democrats. That is the combination that has run Germany for 12 years of Merkel\u2019s 16-year tenure but has often been marred by squabbling, and there is little appetite for it now. Scholz and others were keen to dispel concerns that lengthy haggling and a new, multiparty government would mean unstable leadership in Europe\u2019s biggest economy. \u201cMy idea is that we will be very fast in getting a result for this government, and it should be before Christmas if possible,\u201d Scholz told reporters in Berlin. \u201cGermany always has coalition governments, and it was always stable.\u201d Scholz, an experienced and pragmatic politician whose calm, no-frills style is in some ways reminiscent of Merkel\u2019s, pointed to continuity in foreign policy. He said a priority will be \u201cto form a stronger and more sovereign European Union.\u201d \u201cBut doing so means also to work very hard on the good relationship between\u2026 the European Union and the United States,\u201d he added. \u201cThe trans-Atlantic partnership is of (the) essence for us in Germany \u2026 and so you can rely on continuity in this question.\u201d Scholz made clear that the rival Union bloc should bow out of government. He said the bloc \u201creceived the message from citizens that they should no longer be in government, but go into opposition.\u201d But Laschet held out the possibility that he might form a coalition despite what he called \u201cpainful losses,\u201d for which he said he bears a \u201cpersonal share\u201d of the blame. Other senior center-right figures were more skeptical. Markus Soeder, the more popular rival Laschet beat to secure the Union\u2019s nomination to run for chancellor, said a second-place party has \u201cno entitlement\u201d to form a government, \u201cso we can only make an offer.\u201d He said there can\u2019t be an alliance with the Greens and Free Democrats \u201cat any price.\u201d Laschet also faces calls from within his own party to resign after a disastrous election night that saw the Union bloc lose dozens of parliamentary seats \u2013 including the constituency Merkel had held since 1990. The Greens made significant gains in the election to finish third but fell far short of their original aim of taking the chancellery, while the Free Democrats improved slightly on a good result from 2017. Merkel\u2019s outgoing government will remain in office until a successor is sworn in, a process that can take weeks or even months. Merkel announced in 2018 that she wouldn\u2019t seek a fifth term. The Free Democrats and Greens indicated they plan to speak to each other first before entertaining approaches from the bigger parties. The Free Democrats\u2019 leader, Christian Lindner, said he wants to discuss with the Greens whether they could \u201cbecome the progressive center of a new coalition, for all our differences.\u201d Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page. Enter your email and password to access comments. Forgot Password? Don’t have a Talk profile? Create one. Invalid username\/password. Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration. Create a commenting profile by providing an email address, password and display name. You will receive an email to complete the registration. Please note the display name will appear on screen when you participate. Already registered? Log in to join the discussion. Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. 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